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Born and raised on the Detroit's east side, Ronnie Watts knew he wanted to be a rapper after hearing Kurtis Blow's "Christmas Rappin'." In 1984 Watts saw Whodini perform, prompting him to begin writing his own rhymes, and by the end of his senior year of high school, he, going under the name Phat Kat (given to him by a local mechanic, though he also refers to himself as "Ronnie Cash"), had produced his first song. In 1994 he met Jay Dee in a local hip-hop joint; the two quickly became friends, and the following year, after a chance encounter in a Detroit record store with New York rap duo Gang Starr, who got him in touch with Pay Day Records, Phat Kat and Jay Dee, going as 1st Down, were able to sign a deal with the label. Shortly after the release of the group's first single, "A Day wit the Homiez," in 1994, the label folded, and 1st Down broke up soon after. Phat Kat continued to work with his former bandmate, however, appearing on Slum Village albums (he was often referred to as "...